On May 14th and 15th, Maximilian and Laetizia Riedel spent two days in Burgundy to “meet the new generation”, and show them, through “Riedel Experiences” the need to use proper glass for their tastings.
Each time, the ritual was the same: The owners were facing nine glasses. Each of the participants (between three and eight) voted. They tested successively three wines on each of these glasses and, at each round, eliminated the three less interesting glasses.” After the first round, six glasses were left in the contest. At the second one, three, and the last tasting let to select the winner of the contest.
II A FEW QUOTES FROM THE OWNERS
The owners and winemakers were all enthusiastic:
- At Etienne Sauzet, Puligny-Montrachet, Emilie Boudot, grand-daughter of Etienne Sauzet, said she was « thrilled with this tasting, incredibly surprised that the glass that won is the Montrachet. I could check that the glass has a primarly influence on our wines. I will never taste again our wines the same way.”
- Alberic Bichot, President of “Maison Albert Bichot” got enthusiastic : « This is fantastic, impressive to check the effect of glasses on wines. It should be compulsory for winemakers. Why should we do “dentelle” (so much precision) in our Climates of Burgundy if we can’t reveal it with “dentelle” in the glasses?”
- Pierre-Henri Jadot, President of Maison Louis Jadot declared himself « fascinated by the performance. It is very extaordinary to check the way a wine expresses differently according to the glasses we propose him. »
- Jordane Andrieu, owner of Le Clos du Moulin aux Moines at Auxey-Duresses was also impressed : « I could not suppose at what point a glass could flatter a wine or destroy it. I already knew that the nose was influenced by the shape of the glass, but I could not imagine at which point the glasses could also influence the perception in pallet.”
- Véronique Drouhin, co-owner and winemaker at Maison Joseph Drouhin, based in Beaune and in Oregon, declared :, « The Riedel glasses have a clear effect on the perception of the taste of wine. I was struck during this tasting by the strong influence of glasses on mouth, more precisely on the perception of the length in pallet and the texture.”
- And Jean-Nicolas Méo, owner of Domaine Méo-Camuzet in Vosne-Romanée, declared that « We don’t always taste our wines like our consumers ». And he was more than surprised that his useful glass was eliminated by the first round.
II CONCLUSIONS
These few “Riedel Experiences” led to clear conclusions:
- The owners and winemakers of Burgundy, both from Great Houses and small iconic family estates, consider at last the importance of the shape of the glasses to enhance the quality of their wines
- They were each time surprised by the influence of the glasses on the wine tasting, in particular on the perception in pallet that they usually under-estimated
- The tasting glasses that they used before for their own tastings got systematically eliminated by the beginning of each contest
- And the most fascinating conclusion is that, blind tasting after blind tasting, the winning glasses, selected among eight challengers, were always those selected by Riedel for these grapes, the Montrachet Grape and the two Pinot Noir Glasses, one designed by Claus Josef Riedel in 1956, and one by Georg Riedel one generation later.
To know everything about this trip, consul the following file : http://www.slideshare.net/Painvinandco/roadtrip-burgundy-ml-riedel-may-2012
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